TEHRAN, Sept 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Key U.S. ally Turkey and long time foe Iran said Sunday, September 1, 2002, they wanted Washington to resolve its differences with Iraq through "peaceful means", rejecting U.S. plans to strike the country. Turkey also warned it would take military action against Kurdish groups along the border with northern Iraq if they moved towards independence after a possible U.S. strike.

Washington's crisis with Iraq over its weapons of mass destruction "must be resolved through peaceful means," Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said quoted by Iranian state television, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Any change must be decided by the Iraqi people," he said, in a veiled reference to U.S. President George W. Bush's promises to oust the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Gurel was the fourth top diplomat of a pro-Western state in as many weeks to beat a path to Tehran to voice opposition to U.S. Iraq policy.

His Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharazi reiterated opposition to U.S. plans to strike Baghdad, but criticized Iraq for being "unpredictable" in its actions.

"The Iraqi regime is unpredictable and over the past two decades has caused much damage to countries in the region," Kharazi said, a reference to the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988 and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

However, "this should not justify any interference in the affairs of Iraq," he added, saying "consultations between Turkey and Iran as well as other countries neighboring Iraq can be very effective in preventing a bigger crisis in the future", he added.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami during his talks with Gurel, meanwhile, stressed the two countries' "identical views" on regional stability, the president's office said.

"Cooperation between Iran and Turkey contributes to the economic progress and helps to maintain the security and stability in both countries as well as other countries in Central Asia and Caucasus," the statement said.

For his part, the Turkish Foreign Minister renewed an invitation from Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, for Khatami to participate in a summit of Economic Co-operation Organization (ECO) on October 14 in Turkey.

Gurel's trip to Tehran, kicked off Saturday, followed visits last month by diplomats from the pro-Western Gulf states of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman, in a regional display of solidarity to express misgivings about US military action against Iraq.

In Ankara, meanwhile, Turkish Defense Minister said Sunday that his country will not allow the Kurds in Northern Iraq to declare independence if the U.S. went ahead with its unilateral threats against Baghdad.

"Under UN charter, countries can at times carry out border operations to ensure border security," Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said in the northwestern town of Mengen, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The Minister recalled that the Turkish army frequently carried out "border operations" in the past against armed Kurdish rebels fighting for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey's south east.

Such operations saw Turkish troops entering deep into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels sheltering in the mountainous region.

"If Turkey sees a possible threat at its border, it is ready to undertake similar moves," Cakmakoglu said.

His remarks came two days after the chief of the Turkish army, General Hilmi Ozkok, acknowledged that the country kept a military presence in northern Iraq, but refused to give any further details.